Better With You
by TardisGrl
Summary: Roxas is a pop star battling inner demons. Axel is heartbroken and unemployed. Their lives become turned upside down when Axel decides to take a job as the singers bodyguard. Can they find solace with each other, or will the demands of Roxas' life tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters related to it.

I feel like I should warn everyone I don't really have any knowledge of the process of doing voice over work for animes (or anything else related to the entertainment industry) so anything you see here related to that is purely speculation.

Chapter One

Roxas walked into his apartment and threw his keys on the small table beside the door. It was the middle of the day but he was exhausted. He had spent all of the previous day and night doing some voice over work for an anime that was soon to be released in the US. There had been some problems getting the translations right and then making sure they made sense in English. Then the director wanted Roxas's voice to match the same inflection as the Japanese actor that he was dubbing over, so Roxas ended up watching the anime in Japanese a bunch of times to make sure it was right. And that was only the work for the first act. There was still a lot more to do.

He threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes right before his cellphone started ringing. He groaned when he saw who was calling and briefly thought about not answering it, but he knew the person would just keep calling anyway.

He hit the green button and put the phone up to his ear. "Tseng."

"Roxas!" His agent's voice greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I was actually just about to go to sleep when you called. I've been up all night working on that anime gig you got me."

"Oh right. That director's kind of a hardass, right?"

Roxas glared at the ceiling. "Yeah, I kinda wish you'd told me that before I signed the contract."

"Hey, work is work. If you want to get back in the studio and put out another record I can always ask Yuffie to start working on some compositions."

"I told you I'm taking a break from that right now." Roxas rubbed his face.

"It's been nearly five years, Roxas." Tseng reminded him. "Do you even remember how to play the guitar?"

"Of course I can still play!" Roxas snapped. "Were you actually calling about something?"

"Oh yeah, there is something I wanted to discuss with you. There's a music awards show I want you to go to."

"Am I getting an award?"

"Have you done anything to get an award for lately?"

"Then the answer is 'no'."

"You need to stay in the public eye, Rox."

"Tseng, those things are boring enough for the people getting the awards. I don't wanna just sit and watch other people get awards they don't really want and talk about things they don't really care about."

"Well aren't you Mary Sunshine. I guess I could try to see if you could perform. That would actually be better for exposure." Tseng said, thinking out loud.

"I'm not performing, Tseng."

"Look, Roxas," Tseng switched to a serious voice, "I'm worried about you, and I'm not just saying this as an agent. I've known you since you were fifteen. You were a happy kid who loved to sing, play the guitar and write songs. You loved music, then all of the sudden you started acting depressed and said you needed a break. I get it. We pushed you pretty hard. You deserved a break, but it's been years. You're taking just enough peanut jobs to make a living, and you're still not back to being yourself. What gives?"

"Geez, Tseng. This conversation couldn't wait until I was more awake?"

"When's the last time you spoke to your parents?"

Roxas sighed. "I don't know..."

"They're worried about you too. Your mom says you haven't called her back in two weeks."

This made Roxas sit up. "You've been talking to my mom?"

"Why wouldn't I talk to your mom? She's a wonderful woman."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"The point is you're becoming more and more isolated and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to be Mr. Tough-Guy and insist that you start making appearances again. You don't have to do anything except sit there, smile and maybe pose for a couple pictures and sign your name a few times. I really think once you get back out there you're gonna start feeling like yourself again."

Roxas really didn't want to go to the show, but he knew agreeing to it would be the only way he would get some sleep. Besides, making a few appearances would definitely be better than doing voice overs for an anime he didn't really have any interest in. "Alright, when is this award show?"

"Two weeks."

"Fine, I'll be there."

"Great! I'll text you the info and send a car to pick you up the day of the show."

"M'kay." Roxas said as he hung up without waiting for Tseng's response.

~~:)~~

Axel woke up to a pounding headache and an incessant ringing beside his head. He turned to grab the phone and possibly throw it, but forgot he had fallen asleep on his brothers sofa so he ended up on the floor instead. With a groan he reached up and answered the phone with a growl.

"Yo, nice to hear your voice little bro." Reno returned his greeting.

"What d'ya want?"

"Mostly to make sure your still alive after drinking yourself into a stupor last night, but also to let you know I've got a job for ya if you're interested."

"What kinda job?" Axel asked suspiciously.

"Bodyguard work for Shinra Talent, same as me. The boss man says one of the musicians we got signed to us is gonna be doing some appearances after being on hiatus for a couple years. Now this kid used to be pretty hot shit so we're expecting to need some extra hands. You interested?"

Axel ran his hand through his hair. It would be better than sitting on Reno's couch and moping about losing his job and boyfriend. "Yeah, alright."

"Great! I'll let Tseng know. You can come in with me tomorrow for training."

"M'kay, sounds good." Axel hung up the phone before getting back up on the sofa to sleep off his hangover.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters related to it.

Chapter Two

It was the night of the awards show and Roxas was pacing back and forth in his apartment by the door. He had gotten himself dressed in the tux that Tseng had sent over for him and was now just waiting for the car to show up. He had to admit, Tseng had good taste. The pants and jacket were black, the dress shirt was dark maroon, and the tie was such a dark blue it was almost black. The clothes were comfortable and stylish, but Roxas was on edge knowing that they were just on loan. Sure, he could probably afford to buy it, but he'd rather not have to.

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a card that in Tseng's handwriting read "it's Versace". Most likely that was so he would know what to say when he was asked who he was wearing, because even at the dinkiest of award shows that's what everyone always asked.

Just as he was deciding, for probably the millionth time that day, that he wasn't going and Tseng could just go screw himself, the buzzer for his apartment rang.

The doorman announced that the car was there to pick him up and Roxas told him he would be down in a minute. He gave himself a once over in the mirror by the door before stepping out and going down the elevator.

He walked into the lobby and waved to the doorman, who he swore could be a double for Stan Lee, before walking to the sleek black limo that was waiting for him.

A bodyguard was standing by the back passenger door of the limo waiting for Roxas to approach. Roxas recognized the large man to be Rude, one of the longtime company guards who had been assigned to watch over Roxas during the height of his fame.

Rude nodded to him in greeting and opened the door for him, which Roxas went through after returning the sentiment.

There were two redheads already sitting in the back of the car, one of which Roxas recognized to be Reno. He didn't know the other one, but assumed he was probably related to Reno since they looked so similar in appearance.

"Hey Roxas, long time no see." Reno said with a smile as Roxas took a seat.

"Hi Reno. Good to see you." Roxas grinned. The redhead had always been one of his favorites.

"This here's my little bro, Axel." Reno used his thumb to point to said brother. "He's going to be helping us out with security tonight."

Roxas extended a hand to Axel. "Nice to meet you."

Axel shook the offered hand, finding it hard to believe that this unassuming kid was the hotshot that everyone was making a big deal about. "Yeah same here." He said after a moment of shock at being talked to. He was expecting someone who acted more like a loud, spoiled rockstar who wouldn't even acknowledge the hired help. This guy was polite, quiet and actually looked a little anxious. He definitely wasn't bad to look at, though.

The rest of the ride went by quietly. When they reached the venue Reno quickly became all business. "Alright, Rude's going to stop at the carpet and open the door. Roxas you'll get out first, Axel and I'll hang back a bit to stay out of the cameras line of sight, then we'll follow you into the building. Rude'll stay with the car, I'll stand guard at the door inside the auditorium, Axel, you'll walk Roxas to his seat then stand against the wall that's closest to his seat. Afterwards there's the usual get-together in the reception hall. Ax, you stay on Roxas like a fly on a horse's ass. I'll be close by. Everyone got it?"

Axel and Roxas nodded, although Roxas wasn't sure he liked being compared to a horse's ass.

The car soon pulled up to the carpet and just as Reno had said, Rude opened the door. Roxas took a deep breath and exhaled before stepping out into flashes of blinding light and a din of voices all yelling and shouting, trying to be heard above one another.

Roxas walked forward with a wide smile and waving to people every few steps.

Axel was amazed at the transformation before him. In the car Roxas had seemed like the kind of person who would sit at home on the weekend playing his PlayStation and having a beer. Now, walking down the red carpet with people on either side screaming for his attention Roxas had his shoulders back and stood straight, but still managed to look relaxed as he gave everyone a huge smile and waved at all the people like they were old friends. He even went over to a couple people who were asking for autographs and made small talk while signing his name. He looked like he completely belonged and even enjoyed this overwhelming scene.

There were one or two reporters stationed every couple feet waiting for the celebrities to walk by and chat them up for a minute or so on their way inside.

Everyone with a mic seemed to do the same thing; act so surprised and happy to see Roxas, ask him what he had been doing with himself, when he would be releasing any new music, and of course, who he was wearing.

Roxas never lost his cool at the repetitive and predictable questions, and even acted surprised, but gracious at some of the reactions his responses elicited.

Finally, they made it through the doors of the lobby.

"Nice job, Roxas." Reno said as he patted his back.

"Thanks. Just like riding a bike." He gave the bodyguard a crooked grin.

Some people they passed recognized Roxas and shook his hand, or in the case of the women, gave him a hug as he made his way through, but eventually they made it to the auditorium. Axel couldn't help but notice Roxas got a lot of hugs. Reno took a spot near the door with some other celebrities security detail while an usher showed Roxas to his seat.

All of the sudden Roxas and Axel heard an annoying voice loudly ask "What the hell is Roxas Strife doing here?"

Roxas sighed and turned towards the source of the disturbance. "Nice to see you too, Seifer." He said with a weary smile.

"I thought you either died or crawled under a rock 'cause you realized your songs suck." Seifer taunted. A few of his groupies who were huddled behind him snickered.

Axel took a step closer to Roxas in case things got ugly.

"That's funny." Roxas said, "because you sure didn't seem to think my songs sucked when you recorded one that I wrote for you. How high on the charts did that get again? Seven?"

Seifer's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "Yeah well... I changed some things around to make it better."

"Good for you, man. Now if you'll excuse me I need to take my seat." Roxas turned away effectively dismissing the bully.

Axel was impressed and followed behind Roxas as soon as Seifer and his friends walked away.

"Well that was fun." Roxas said sarcastically.

"Yeah, what was his problem?" Axel asked.

Roxas glanced at his bodyguard. "He's always been a jerk to me ever since I beat him out for an audition for a ridiculous teenybopper show."

Axel snorted with laughter. "He wanted to be on that kind of show?"

Roxas smiled. "To be fair, I really didn't want to be on it and I don't think he did either. It was really just for exposure. I was glad when my character's run ended after a season. I probably only got it because I was climbing the charts pretty quick back then, but he took it pretty personal."

"And yet you wrote a song for him."

Roxas smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, it actually wasn't really for anyone. I was just writing and came up with the song, but when I realized how bad it was I wanted to toss it. Tseng convinced me to sell it, and Seifer's label bought it. I don't think he realized who wrote it until after it'd been released."

They came to Roxas' seat and Axel started to walk towards the wall that his brother had directed him to when Roxas touched his shoulder.

"Hey, you know there's an empty seat next to mine if you want it. It'd be better than standing for the whole time. Plus it'd give me someone to talk to and make this thing bearable."

Axel hesitated. "I don't know. Reno gave me pretty specific instructions."

"Think about it this way; you can protect me better if you're right next to me."

"Hmm, that is true." He stroked his chin in thought. "Alright, you twisted my arm."

They took their seats right as a warning sounded to let everyone know the show would be starting soon.

A few moments later the main lights went down and the stage lit up. The show itself was unremarkable. It was just like every other award show that Roxas had ever been to. To his surprise, though, he had a good time. This could only be credited to having Axel to talk to and make fun of other people with. Before they knew it the ending music was playing and the lights were coming back on.

The pair made their way to the reception area where all the stars were having drinks and hor d'oeuvres in front of the cameras that were strategically placed around the room. The award winners were being interviewed by select reporters, while everyone else was smiling and talking as if they actually enjoyed each other's company.

Roxas was smiling and chatting with everyone who stopped to talk to him, but unlike everyone else, rather than circulating around the room he had taken up a position near a large aquarium built into the wall and seemed intent on staying there.

A waiter walking around with a tray of champagne glasses stopped and offered some to Roxas and Axel. Axel took one without thinking, while Roxas seemed to be debating the choice. Axel was surprised to see a little of the facade slip from Roxas' face as he bit his lip and slowly reached for a glass with a shaking hand that was almost imperceptible to anyone who wasn't watching intently.

Before he could pick up the glass Reno seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Yo Roxas, I've got your drink here." He handed Roxas a glass that looked identical to those on the tray.

A look of relief crossed Roxas' face briefly it was replaced with a calm smile. "Thanks."

Axel wasn't sure what had just happened. The glasses that the waiters were walking around with looked fine to him, but maybe the blond star had a fear of being roofied or something.

Roxas leaned towards Reno as he took the glass from his hand. "What is it?" He asked barely above a whisper.

"Sparkling apple cider." Reno replied quietly.

Roxas sighed. "I could really use a drink, man."

Reno shot him a look that Axel couldn't decipher. "Stick with this for tonight." He then turned to Axel, nodding towards the champagne in his hand. "You can take a couple sips of that but don't finish it. You're still on duty, yo." He then left to stand by the door.

"Shit." Axel muttered under his breath. He hated being reprimanded by his brother, but he knew he was right and felt like he should have known better.

"Don't worry about it." Roxas said, sensing the feeling of guilt coming from the redhead.

"No he's right. I wasn't thinking."

"Look around you." Roxas gestured towards other people standing near them. "At a function like this you'd stick out like a sore thumb if you didn't have a drink in your hand."

Axel realized he was right. Famous people sure did like their booze. That didn't stop him from handing his drink to a waiter who was walking by, though.

The rest of the night went by uneventfully. Roxas played his part well, posing for pictures with other celebrities who would probably put them on their social media feeds, and laughing appropriately when others shared their exploits that were probably inappropriate. By the time Reno motioned to him that he was allowed to leave he was exhausted.

Rude pulled the car around and Roxas walked back through the bright flashes of cameras to take his seat in the back with the redheads in tow.

As soon as the door closed Roxas leaned back in his seat and sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face and threw his hair.

"You did good, kid." Reno told him.

"I'm just glad it's over."

"You'd have never known you didn't want to be there." Axel said.

"I've had a lot of practice faking it with these kinds of things." Roxas smiled ruefully. "It wasn't all bad, though." He said to the surprise of the redheads. "I mean the whole thing was ridiculous, but I had fun laughing at everyone with you, Axel."

Axel smiled. "Same here. Glad I could help."

Before they knew it the car had pulled up in front of Roxas' apartment building, and Rude had the door open.

"Rude, Reno, it's been great seeing you guys again." Roxas said looking at his favorite bodyguards affectionately. "And Axel, hopefully I'll see you again the next time Tseng makes me go somewhere."

He gave Axel a genuine smile that rendered the redhead speechless for a moment.

"Yeah, I, uh, I'd like that too." Axel managed to say.

The entire car ride back to Reno's apartment Axel was quietly thinking about that smile. He barely registered the fact that his brother and Rude were having a conversation about some of the women they had seen at the show, which pretty much consisted of Reno being loud and making inappropriate gestures while Rude grunted and occasionally smiled.

When they got home Reno went straight to his room. Axel on the other hand, pulled out his laptop and sat on the couch watching Roxas' music videos onYouTube.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters related to it.

Ok, so I need to apologize for not getting this chapter up sooner. A bunch of distracting stuff came up so I've only been writing sporadically. I actually could've had this up sooner if I had realized how long it was getting. When I was looking it over today I realized the plan I had wasn't going to work as a single chapter so I'm splitting it into two. Hopefully now that things have calmed down it won't take me so long to get the next chapter posted. Enjoy!

Chapter Three

When Reno came home from work the next day he was surprised to find Axel cleaning the kitchen while music was blasting from his laptop. He was even more surprised when he realized that the singer of the music was none other than Roxas Strife.

"Yo, ya know he's straight, right?"

Axel shot his brother a look.

Reno put his hands up. "I mean, don't get me wrong, if listening to his music will get you scrubbing this place til it shines I'm all for it. I just don't want you getting your hopes up and harboring a crush when there's no way anything will happen."

Axel rolled his eyes. "I know he's straight, Reno. If the girls in the music videos dancing around half naked didn't clue me in then the fact that he's singing about their tits and asses would. I just thought he seemed like a really good guy and I wanted to know more about him."

He purposely omitted the fact that despite all this evidence of Roxas' sexual orientation he still found the blond hot and watching these videos was doing nothing to douse his attraction. He even felt a little guilty that in one of the videos where Roxas was clearly a minor he found himself semi erect. He reassured himself, however, that this was most likely due to the fact that the camera focused on the smaller man's ass multiple times.

"Alright, what do ya wanna know?" Reno sat down on the couch with his arms resting on the back cushions.

Axel eyed the older redhead suspiciously before taking a seat in the recliner across from the couch. "Okay, how did he get started with all this?"

"If you're asking how did he get discovered then the answer is YouTube." Reno answered matter of factory. "Apparently the kid had been posting videos for a couple years of himself singing and playing the guitar. He became kind of a internet sensation, which is how Rufus Shinra heard about him. Tseng found him somewhere in Iowa, got a contact signed and brought him back to Cali."

"So why did he quit?"

"Technically, he hasn't quit. He's on 'hiatus'." Reno made finger quotes in the air. "But to answer your question he got burned out. When he wasn't in the studio or doing rehearsals he was on tour. It'd be tough on anyone. Eventually, he just wanted a break."

Axel nodded his head in understanding.

"Now I gotta question for you." Reno said, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. "Tseng was pretty impressed with your performance the other night and wants to know if you'd be available for more work."

"Um, yeah I guess." Axel said in surprise.

"Good. You start next week. Tseng's workin' on convincing Roxas to make more appearances so you should have plenty of time to drool over your crush in person." The older redhead said with a grin.

Axel rolled his eyes while mumbling "shut up."

"Since it doesn't look like you made us dinner while you were being domestic why don't you call up one of your dumb-ass friends and go out to celebrate."

Axel could see this was his brother's way of getting him out of the apartment before he remembered _why_ he was sleeping on Reno's couch and started moping again. He wanted to tell him that he appreciated what he was doing, but knew this would only cause his brother embarrassment so he just said "yeah, ok."

~~:)~~

Axel found himself at a bar an hour later sitting across from his friend, Demyx, eating an order of loaded nachos and drinking a beer.

"Dude, how awesome is it that you're working at Shinra Records!" Demyx exclaimed. "Maybe you can get me signed."

"Dem, slow down. I just started working there. Give me some time to get in good with the bigwigs before I start trying to bring all my friends on board."

Demyx pouted. "Ok."

Soon the two friends were once again joking around, laughing and having a good time. However, in the middle of one of Demyx's outrageous stories Axel heard a familiar voice singing (and slurring) along to the song "Bringing Sexy Back" which was playing on the jukebox. He turned only to have to do a double take when he saw a disheveled and obviously drunk Roxas across the bar, dancing like no one was watching. Axel would have indeed agreed that it was a sexy sight if he wasn't so worried about why Roxas was intoxicated and alone.

"Crap." Axel muttered.

Demyx turned a questioning look to his wide eyed friend before following his gaze to the intoxicated blond. "Do you know him?"

"That's the guy I was on guard duty for the other day."

"Him!?" He looked at Roxas a little closer. "He's cute."

"He's going to get himself in trouble." Axel looked around. Some people were laughing at the funny sight, but he didn't see anyone taking pictures or videos so hopefully Roxas hadn't been recognized yet. He watched Roxas grab a random girl's hand and start dancing suggestively. She didn't seem to mind, but the guy she had been talking with sure did. Axel could see something bad was going to happen if Roxas didn't get out of there fast.

"Dem, here's my keys. Bring the car around. I'm going to try to get Roxas out of here before he does something stupid." He handed his keys to Demyx, put some money on the table to cover the food, drinks and a tip and calmly walked over to the drunk star.

When he got close enough Axel put a hand on Roxas' shoulder and quietly called his name.

Roxas looked at him with a confused expression before his eyes focused and he recognized the redhead. "Axel! Hey! How the hell are ya?"

"I'm good, Rox. Why don't we get out of here?"

The girl Roxas was dancing with had put her arms around his neck and made a sound of protest.

Axel gently pulled on his arm, but Roxas resisted. "Duuude, nah. I'm-I'm gonna stay cuz I'm bringing sexy back." He snorted and started laughing at his own joke, which made the girl hanging on him start laughing as well.

"Hey!" A deep voice yelled.

Axel groaned internally. Apparently the guy that Roxas' dance partner had been with decided to pick that moment to assert his dominance and get his lady friend back.

Axel put his hands up in a show of nonviolence. "She's all yours. We were just leaving."

The guy looked Axel up and down before nodding his head.

"Dude, nooo. I wanna stay and have fun." Roxas whined.

More people were watching them so Axel knew he had to do something quick. "Ok, no problem. I just thought you'd want to come to this cool party with me."

That got Roxas' attention. "Yeah? Ok, let's go." He untangled himself from the girl and let Axel lead him away.

Axel quickly ushered Roxas out the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Demyx parked in front of the door. He pushed Roxas into the backseat and climbed in the front next to Demyx.

"Where we going?" Demyx asked.

"I don't know. Just drive around while I call Reno."

"Aw man, not Reno!" Roxas protested. "He's gonna be pissed, and then Tseng's gonna be pissed, and then...then everybody's _pissed_!"

Axel ignored him while his brothers phone rang. When he picked up Axel explained the situation.

"Fuck!" Reno said in response.

"Should we take him to his place-"

"No!" The older redhead cut him off. "If anybody realizes that was Roxas in the bar there definitely won't be any denying it if he's seen drunk off his ass in front of his apartment building. Bring him here. No one will notice him. He can sleep it off and leave tomorrow."

Axel hung up and told Demyx the plan.

Demyx was about to ask him something when they heard Roxas start singing from the backseat.

"Drivin' in a car, but I'm not really drivin' cause I'm druunk. Axel's friend behind the wheel, he's doing a good job. Axel's in the passenger seat lookin' really annoy-oy-oyed. We're going to see Renoooh. He's gonna yell at me, nooo! Uh-huh, uh-huh...". Roxas started dancing to the music in his head while Axel and Demyx just looked at each other.

"Apparently I'm doing a good job." Demyx remarked.

"Just get us there." Axel grumbled.

"Hey man, I know you're annoyed, but don't take it out on me."

"I'm not annoyed!"

"Really? Cause it seems like you are."

"I'm not." Axel said in a forced calm voice.

Demyx wasn't completely convinced, but knew better than to push it. "Okay, guess I was wrong."

When they pulled up in front of Reno's building Axel quickly pulled Roxas out of the car and waved to Demyx as they went through the door. Reno was waiting for them when they made it into the apartment. He looked calm, but Axel knew his brother well enough to see the subtle signs of anger.

Apparently Roxas knew the signs too. "Told ya he'd be pissed."

"Damn right I'm pissed, yo." Reno replied. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I played the game and acted like-like a circus monkey for you guys, so-so I deserved to go out and have a mother fuckin' drink!"

Axel was shocked by this side of Roxas. Sure, everyone was entitled to be mad once in a while, but this was something else.

"Looks like you had more than one." Reno accused. "Did you do anything else?"

"I just had some shots and rum n' coke." Roxas said in a controlled voice. He was glaring daggers at Reno.

"If you're gonna insist on being an idiot at least have someone with you so you don't kill yourself." Reno pointed towards the couch where a pillow and some blankets were resting. "Get some sleep."

Roxas grumbled something unintelligible before throwing himself on the couch.

Reno looked at Axel. "Sorry you gotta give up your bed, Ax. You wanna share mine?"

"Nah, that's okay. I'll just sleep in the chair."

Reno nodded, before looking back at Roxas, who was looking through his phone.

"You're gonna regret it in the morning if you call her, yo." Reno warned.

"Don't worry. I'm not drunk 'nuff for that." Roxas said without looking up.

Reno scoffed before walking to his own room and closing the door.

That left Roxas and Axel alone with Axel looking at the blond in disbelief.

Roxas eventually noticed the attention. "Guess you're disappointed too."

"Kind of, but probably not for the same reason as Reno." Axel admitted.

That made Roxas put the phone down and look at the redhead. "What d'ya mean?"

Axel bit his lip before deciding to just say what was on his mind. Roxas probably wouldn't remember their conversation in the morning anyway. "I guess I'm just wondering what could make a good looking guy, who has an awesome personality and a beautiful voice want to potentially give up everything just for a couple drinks."

Roxas looked at him in shock. "You like me? You think I'm awesome?"

Axel blushed and looked away, trying to tell himself that the blond meant that in a platonic way. "Well, um, yeah. You're a great guy, Roxas, you have the talent and the means to do anything you want. It's ridiculous to risk all that for some alcohol. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like drinking as much as anyone else, but didn't you think about what could happen if you went out by yourself without anyone to take care of you if things went too far?"

He ventured a look at the singer only to see that Roxas had fallen asleep on the sofa. Axel shook his head and chuckled ruefully. As he curled up on the recliner he comforted himself with the thought that at least Roxas was probably too drunk to remember their conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Axel woke up groaning to a cramp in his leg. It took him a minute to remember why he was sleeping in the chair, but when he did he looked over to the couch to make sure he hadn't woken up Roxas. Thankfully the blond was still sleeping.

The redhead quietly stretched before getting up and starting the coffee machine. He leaned against the counter while the coffee brewed, wondering what the hell had gotten into Roxas last night. Obviously this wasn't the first time this had happened judging by how Reno had reacted.

A quiet "Hey" stirred Axel from his thoughts and he looked up to see a tired looking Roxas standing before him scratching the back of his head with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

"Hi...um, how are you feeling?" He mentally smacked himself. _The guy spent last night getting trashed, how do you think he's feeling?_ He thought to himself.

Roxas cleared his throat. "Mostly glad I didn't do anything too stupid last night. Thanks for that by the way."

Axel shrugged with a smile. "No problem. I'm sure you'd have done the same if the situation was reversed. Do you drink coffee?"

"Coffee sounds amazing." Roxas gave a thankful smile as the cup of warm liquid was put in his hands.

They sat down at the kitchen table, neither one knowing what to say.

Finally, Roxas broke the silence. "I'm sorry you saw me like that, and that you had to get involved."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just happy I happened to be there and was able to help." Axel looked down at his coffee so he couldn't see Roxas' intense gaze. He swore he could still feel his eyes on him, though.

The bedroom door opened at that moment and Reno came out, smiling as he strolled over to where other men were sitting. "Good morning, Sunshine!" He practically yelled at Roxas.

The blond winced a bit at the volume. "Nice to see you too, Reno."

"Oh I'm sorry!" Reno said in the same loud voice, not sounding sorry at all. "I hope I didn't hurt your head!"

"Knock it off, Reno." Axel warned his brother with a glare.

Reno crossed his arms and looked at Roxas. "You're lucky my brother likes to play the knight in shining armor. I hope you at least thanked him for last night."

Roxas gave a small smile. "I did, and you're right, I'm glad Axel was there to save me from myself."

Axel got up from the table so that no one could see the blush that was climbing up his face. "How about I change clothes and take you home, Rox?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Roxas agreed.

Once Axel was out of the room Reno sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Roxas do you ever think maybe the pressure of this kind of life is what drives you to do this stuff? I mean, what if you just quit and went home?"

Roxas leaned back in his chair and focused his eyes on the coffee in front of him. "I've thought about that before, but I don't think it'll solve anything. I'll just end up taking my problems with me. Besides, I have no idea what I would do back in Iowa."

"I've known you for a long time, Rox, so I can't help but care about you. You've been doing good staying out of trouble for a while now. I don't want to see you slip back into old habits. I wouldn't be this mad if I didn't care, yo."

Roxas felt bad. He knew Reno didn't open up like this to everyone, which meant he was telling the truth. "I...I wish I could tell you it won't happen again, Reno. I know I was just looking for an excuse to drink. Especially after almost having that champagne the other day. I'll try. That's all I can say."

Axel chose that moment to emerge from the bedroom. "Alright let's go. Reno, I'm going to need your keys."

"What the hell's wrong with your car?" Reno snapped.

"Demyx has it."

Reno dug into his pocket and threw the keys at his brother. "Fine. Get outta here." Without another word he stalked out to the balcony and lit a cigarette.

Axel looked at Roxas questioningly, but Roxas looked away guiltily, mumbling "let's go."

~~:)~~

The car ride was awkwardly quiet for about the first half of the drive to Roxas' apartment until Roxas quietly said, "I wish I could be like everyone else sometimes."

Axel wasn't sure he had heard right. He glanced over at the passenger seat to see Roxas looking out the window. "What?" Was all he could think to say.

"If I was like everyone else I'd be able to stop after a couple drinks, and if I did get drunk no one would care. No one would be disappointed." The blond said with his eyes still on the scenery.

Axel was quiet for a moment before he could put his thoughts into words. "First of all, no one's forcing you to keep drinking. You can stop after a couple or not even start if you think it's too much of a temptation. Second, there's always gonna be someone who cares. If it's not your management, fans and tabloids then it's family and friends. And third, if you don't want to disappoint people then don't do things you know you shouldn't."

The singer was now looking at Axel in shock, not knowing what to say. The redhead wondered if he had crossed a line.

Finally, Roxas scoffed. "You make it sound so easy."

Axel shrugged his shoulders, still keeping an eye on the road. "Why does it have to be complicated?"

The singer stammered, "B-because everything's not all black and white. I have obligations...I have to live with the decisions I make until my contracts are up. Sometimes it's stressful and I just wanna escape for a while. So I drink and I party, and if someone brings something extra I try it. Then I hook up with someone, usually it's this crazy chick who I can only stand when I'm wasted. Sometimes I even write a song or two. But, the point is I can be someone else when I do that. Someone who isn't stressed out with responsibilities."

"Well, that explains that song 'Wasted'." Axel mumbled. He had to admit that seeing Roxas in this light was far from a turn on. In fact his crush may have even been beginning to wear off. "So if doing that kind of stuff is so great why are you on a break?" He asked, letting his frustration show.

Roxas bit his lip, before finally saying, "because I realized I didn't like the kind of person I was becoming. When I first started I would have been disgusted by a guy that acted like that...who did the kind of things I was doing."

Ok, maybe Axel's crush wasn't completely gone. "If you hate what this life is doing to you then why not quit?"

The blond chuckled. "You know your brother just asked me the same thing. I told him i couldn't run from my problems, and that's true, don't get me wrong!" He held up his hands before Axel could say anything. "But, if I'm being honest with myself it's because...I love to perform. I love the way I feel when I sing and dance and play instruments."

When Axel saw the smile that came across Roxas' face when he talked about performing he thought he might actually be in love with the singer.

The car ride ended much too quickly as they pulled up in front of Roxas' apartment building.

Axel took a deep breath. "Look, Roxas, I know you've got your demons, but if you love singing as much as you say then I think that's worth fighting for."

He couldn't quite decipher the look that Roxas was giving him, but it was a good look. Almost like a look of relief...maybe validation.

"Yeah?" Roxas asked quietly.

"Yeah." Axel couldn't help but give a flirty smile. "Plus, it'd be a shame to waste all that talent."

Roxas smiled and started to open his door before pausing, and frowning as though he was remembering something. "Did you say I was good looking and had a...beautiful voice last night?"

Axel ran his hand through his hair and cleared his throat. _Christ, of all the things for him to remember_. "Yeah, well, I also said you had a great personality."

Roxas laughed. "You're not too bad yourself." He said as he got out of the car.

Axel watched him disappear into the building in shock.

~~:)~~

Roxas walked into his apartment, but instead of going to his bedroom to sleep off the remainder of his hangover he walked into the second bedroom, which he had turned into his music room. It was where he did most of his songwriting and where he kept his instruments.

He walked over to his electric keyboard, and grimaced when his finger picked up a layer of dust. He hadn't thought it had been that long since he'd been in there. He grabbed his guitar from its stand and took it into the living room, picking up a towel from the hamper on his way. Sitting on the couch, the blond cleaned the collection of dust off the polished wood, being careful around the strings. All the while he thought about his conversation with Axel.

Just as he started tuning the strings his phone rang. Roxas looked at the display and groaned when he saw Tseng's name. He sighed as he hit the green button, knowing he was about to get reamed out. "Hey, Tseng."

"Did you have a good time last night, Roxas?" Tseng asked in a controlled voice.

"Could have been better." Roxas replied as he absently plucked a string on the guitar.

Tseng sounded like he was about to say something before he stopped. "What was that?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked, truly confused.

"That sound." Tseng insisted. "Are you playing the guitar?"

"Oh, um yeah. I was just tuning it." His mind wandered back to Axel. "Hey, Tseng, I know you want to yell at me about last night, but before you do, do you think we could maybe book a gig or something?"

Tseng was quiet for a moment before asking, "What?"

"I want to start performing again."

Tseng was obviously at a loss for words. "Uh, sure...um, we can do that."

"Nothing big to start out with, but yeah, I'm ready to come back." Roxas nervously bit his lip.

"Don't worry. We'll start slow." Tseng paused. "It's good to have you back, Roxas." He said before hanging up.

Roxas took a deep breath and smiled as he turned back to his guitar.


End file.
